In its State of the Mobile Web, April 2009 report, Opera Software, makers of the mobile web browser Opera Mini have some interesting things to say about the mobile web in Africa.
* The top 12 countries using Opera Mini in Africa are South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya, Libya, Zambia, Tanzania, Cote d’Ivoire, Mozambique, Namibia, Ghana and Gabon.
* Some numbers regarding Africa from April 2008 to April 2009:
o overall page views in the top 12 countries listed increased 422%;
o overall unique users in the top 12 countries listed increased 169%;
o overall data transferred in the top 12 countries listed increased 348%.
* Kenya leads the top 12 countries in page views, with each user browsing 372 pages on average each month.
* Nokia and Sony Ericsson handsets are dominant in Africa, but Samsung is a significant exception, boasting the most popular phone used by Opera Mini users in South Africa, as well as Zambia, Namibia and Gabon.
When using Opera Mini data is compressed to just a fraction of its true size, so the mobile Web experience is fast and responsive for consumers, while reducing strain on operator networks. This is clearly the reason that it is such a popular mobile web browser in Africa.
http://mlearningafrica.net/2009/06/01/the-mobile-web-is-growing-in-africa/
